Man Drowns in Louisiana Flooding; Evacuations and Rescues Ongoing as Rivers Rise Toward Record Crests
Published:
Aug 12 2016 03:30 PM EDT
By Eric Chaney and Sean Breslin
weather.com
Gulf Coast Emergencies: National Guard Deployed
A flash flood is sweeping through parts of Louisiana and Mississippi.
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Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has declared a state of emergency.
The Amite and Comite rivers are both expected to set new flood level records.
Two flash flood emergencies have been declared.
Rising waters entered St. Helena Parish Hospital.
Torrential rains have hit both Louisiana and southern Mississippi, flooding homes, forcing evacuations and water rescues, and sending area rivers rising quickly toward historic crests.
More than 15 inches of rain had fallen in some locations across the region by Friday morning, when Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency for the entire state. The heavy rain will continue over Louisiana and Mississippi through at least Saturday morning, said weather.com meteorologist Tom Moore.
"It's going to going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better," Moore said.
The flooding has already claimed one life. A 68-year-old man has drowned trying to escape floodwaters near Zachary, Louisiana, as heavy rains pound the northeastern regions of the state, local news station WAFB.com reports.
"We were in the trailer just watching TV and then the water just started coming up," Vernon Drummond, the victim's roommate, told the station. "We were walking out and he slipped and fell. He went under the water. We tried to save him, but we couldn't."
Rescue crews in Zachary recovered the man's body Friday morning, WAFB.com also said. Drummond says the victim is originally from Los Angeles and does not have any family in the area. Officials have not yet confirmed the name of the victim.
All that rain is quickly overwhelming waterways in the region. The Tickfaw River reached a record flood stage of 13.33 feet at Liverpool, according to the NWS, and crests on the Amite and Comite Rivers are forecast to exceed record levels set in 1983.
Flooding in Centreville, Mississippi, Friday morning. (Sherry Jefferson)
During the record flood that year, the Amite and Comite rivers flooded 3,025 homes and businesses in Livingston Parish, 1,615 in East Baton Rouge Parish and 828 in Ascension Parish, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports.
According to WWL-TV, the Bogue Chitto River is expected to crest at 18 feet, and deputies are going door-to-door in Bogue Chitto Heights telling residents 'be prepared to leave.'
Waters were already high enough Friday to unearth caskets from St. Mark's Cemetery in Walker, Lousiana. Photos posted by the Walker Police Department on Facebook show at least two bright yellow caskets floating in floodwaters.
A school bus ferrying children home to veer off the road and into a ditch in Zachary, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports. Zachary police chief David McDavid said no one was injured in the accident, which likely occurred when the driver didn't see a turn due to high floodwaters.
The National Weather Service declared a flash flood emergency Friday morning as rising water entered St. Helena Parish Hospital and a local nursing home and isolated the towns of Greenburg, Louisiana, and Osyka, Mississippi.
The National Guard has deployed high water vehicles to make rescues in St. Helena Parish, WWLT reports. Tangipahoa Parish officials told the Baton Rouge Advocate that about 75 people have been saved from flooded homes so far. Water rescues have also been reported in Centreville, Mississippi, according to the National Weather Service.
Officials in St. Charles Parish declared a state of emergency. Flash flood emergencies were issued for Pike County and parts of Amite and Wilkinson counties in Mississippi and in St. Helena Parish, Louisiana.
Interstate 55 was closed in both directions in St. Helena Parish Friday due to flooding, the Louisiana Department of Transportation reported.
St. Charles Parish President Larry Cochran declared a state of emergency Thursday in a precautionary move in anticipation of further rainfall and flooding later this week, WBRZ reported. Ditches and canals backed up and some homes were flooded by Thursday afternoon.
“Within two hours it was flooded,” St. Charles resident Tiffany Jackson told Fox 8. “It went from master bedroom to my son’s bedroom to the hallway to the kitchen to the bathroom, and every time I swept it up it just kept coming back in."
All schools in St. James, St. Helena, Tangipahoa and Livingston parishes were closed Friday, WBRZ reports. Washington Parish public schools were also closed, according to WDSU.
One of the hardest-hit areas in Lousiana Thursday was in Donaldsonville. Social media images there showed widespread street flooding, especially in residential areas, and cars that were trapped in the floodwaters, especially in Donaldsonville.
Heavy rains caused street flooding in Denham Springs, Lousiana, Friday morning. (Jordan Grove)
More than a dozen roads were closed in Donaldsonville, according to the Donaldsonville Chief, but it's not believed that the flooding led to any injuries or widespread evacuations.
At least some homes saw flooding, though. Donaldsonville resident Daniel Scott's was one of those, something that's never happened, he told WBRZ, in the over 40 years he has lived there.
"It came down a lot," Scott said. "You can see the water line on the house."
More than 8,000 Entergy customers were without power in southern Louisiana and Mississippi Thursday evening, according to WBRZ.
Floodwaters overpower cars in Denham Springs, La. on Friday, August 12, 2016. (@sportsbeers/twitter.com)
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